New NMHM Chicago Logo!

Earlier this year, we were lucky enough to partner with UIC’s Biomedical Visualization program to redesign our logo. Students from their Advanced Graphic Design course, led by Donna Hughes, visited NMHM Chicago and talked with our staff members to get a behind-the-scenes look at what we do and why we do it. They then took that information to create new logos for the museum that would encapsulate and communicate the ideologies that inspire our work. We were incredibly impressed with the skill and insight that went into every student’s designs, but could only choose one…

We are happy to announce that the design by second-year BVIS student Samantha Olson has been chosen as our new official logo!!

Straddling the boundaries between simplicity and complexity, her design eloquently embodies the core concepts that drive NMHMChicago. Her description clearly articulates the thought that went into her work:

"The National Museum of Health + Medicine Chicago exhibits a dichotomy between tradition and innovation. It hosts a historic collection on a digital display to honor the ancient practice of medicine and how it’s modern research continues to transform the world. This notion of evolution inspired the logo. The phylogenetic tree represents growth and preservation, ancestral descent with modification, history and innovation. The position of the museum demonstrates NMHM Chicago’s role in the community – it is a formative member. Also, NMHMC is a link in a network, such as the expanding NMHM museum network. At a reduced size, the logo becomes an eye to capture the exploration and education the museum offers. The circle resembles a traditional seal to recognize the national and official status of the NMHM Chicago, yet is modern and unique in the use of line. The gold evokes the stimulating, radiant and respectable qualities of the museum and is complemented by the deep teal, which represents the dignified, intelligent, and healthcare-related focus."

Thank you Samantha Olson and all of the other BVIS students that submitted their designs. We are hugely grateful for all of your efforts. Special thanks to Donna Hughes for introducing us to such a talented group of students!

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH + MEDICINE CHICAGO MISSION

The National Museum of Health + Medicine Chicago is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit entity. The mission of the National Museum of Health + Medicine Chicago is to promote knowledge of health and medicine and to encourage scientific research and innovation by:

4) Serving as a locus of education for scholars, innovators, students, educators and the general public.

5) Engaging the public with revolutionary exhibition technology.

6) Supporting projects in the arts and sciences which promise to provide long-lasting positive impacts on the human condition.

NMHMC programs focus in three areas:

Research

Biomedical informatics in the service of the biomedical sciences, drawing on content and information within the collections of the NMHM, while creating new technologies and integrated information resources to serve specific research projects as well as act as long term research resources for scientists and learners around the world.

Electronic Publishing

Curating, collecting, processing, formatting and creating content and software for delivery of widespread access to components of the NMHM collections in Silver Spring, Maryland, with an aim of providing both resources and reference materials for researchers and entertaining educational experiences for students. A primary focus is on creating mobile apps for platforms like the iPad, together with corresponding material to be released through the museum's public website.

Exhibition & Innovation

Curating, processing, formatting, developing and creating content for public exhibitions and demonstrations that draw upon the content of the collection of the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Maryland.

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE

The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM), established in 1862, is a Department of Defense museum that inspires interest in and promotes the understanding of medicine - past, present, and future - with a special emphasis on tri-service American military medicine. As a National Historic Landmark recognized for its ongoing value to the health of the military and to the nation, the Museum identifies, collects, and preserves important and unique resources to support a broad agenda of innovative exhibits, educational programs, and scientific, historical, and medical research. The Museum has relocated to 2500 Linden Lane, Silver Spring, Md., 20910. Visit the Museum website at www.medicalmuseum.mil or call (301) 319-3300 for more information.

National Museum of Health and Medicine Announces Collaborative Research and Development Agreement Supporting Exhibit and Interactive Mobile App Technologies

September 25, 2012 (Silver Spring, Maryland): The National Museum of Health and Medicine signed a collaborative research and development agreement with the National Museum of Health + Medicine Chicago (NMHM Chicago) and an external software developer. NMHM Chicago and its external software development team recently developed two interactive applications in partnership with NMHM staff. Among other elements of the agreement, NMHM staff provided subject matter expertise and access to unique museum collections as part of the partnership.

A WORD FROM OUR FOUNDER

Welcome to the National Museum of Health + Medicine Chicago. The NMHM Chicago project was begun in late 2010 with the aim of initiating a national-scale program to work with and support the National Museum of Health & Medicine (NMHM), sited in Silver Spring, MD, in its research and educational missions, and to expand the nation's access to current and cutting-edge information which will foster better understanding of the past, present and future of health and medicine across the United States.

The NMHM Chicago is the first of what is hoped to become a series of privately-funded state of the art satellite locations across the nation. These satellite museums are intended to collectively form the central online repository for the NMHM's digital collections, archives and computational resources and, as such, will help the MD museum share its extensive collections digitally with a much broader audience. This mutually beneficial relationship will also provide the MD museum with regional anchors across the country and access to non-governmental sources of support outside of the capital.

Each satellite museum will feature interactive exhibits where visitors can explore biomedical information in new ways. It will also act as a home for a team of information scientists who will advance the museum’s research initiatives. In the area of education, each satellite will create an online community for students, parents, educators, and others to explore health science information while interacting with each other in social networks formed around topics in the health and medical sciences. For clinicians, each museum will provide an environment for social networking within knowledge-based affinity groups among health care workers globally. It will also give health care workers a powerful interactive online interface to the museum’s vast historical repositories and collections. Finally, the satellite museum network will also provide a rich online medical information resource for decision-makers in local, state, and federal governments.

The National Museum of Health & Medicine satellite museum program represents the synergistic convergence of efforts to advance the state-of-the-art in several areas: science education, museum design, information science, technology innovation, community outreach, and human health. Though sited in cities across the nation, these will truly be museums without walls, projecting their influence across the world, and providing a rich immersive information experience to users no matter where they are located.